The Northwest has never exactly had a funk scene; our bleak and bitter winters aren’t exactly conducive to music that really grooves. For a band to take that road is a commitment to a genre wrought with kitsch, almost guaranteeing that they’ll be playing to a niche, but Seattle’s Velella Velella has mass appeal.  The foursome channels the same ironic positivity and enthusiasm of bands like United State of Electronica or Architecture in Helsinki, but takes the programmed beats, handclaps, and gang-vocals and infuses them with infectious synth-pop soundscapes and that signature funk bass. The band’s first LP, Bay of Biscay, was a spacier venture than this EP, which is suited much more for the dance-floors of discos, (if we only had some around here).  From the opening riff of “Alex Boom Selector” to the anthemic outro of “Brass Ass”, (“Can you feel it? Can you feel it? This feeling inside!”) the record is flawlessly self-assured, seductively pulling the listener in with their refreshing dedication to music that’s actually fun.

Velella Velella will renew your faith in funk, while simultaneously grooving you beyond what you imagined possible.



[Vera Project, Velella Velella, Speaker! Speaker!, Antelope and Immaculate Machine, Friday, Dec. 7, all ages, $7, $6 with club card, 1916 Fourth Ave., Seattle, 206.956.8372]